Is the bread Jesus’ body or does it represent Jesus’ body?
Question:
Good morning.
I have looked at your site for many years and have found the devotion and the knowledge skill set to be very helpful, in my walk of life with God. Thank you.
So often, in the Lord’s Supper, the men presiding will say, “which represents His body” and “which represents His blood” (bread and fruit of the vine). However, Jesus never said the word, “represent”, so why do so many in the church say it? Obviously, members of the church do not believe the fruit juice in the cups, to be Christ’s personal blood, and at the same time the words Christ used were, “Take this bread, my body” and “Drink this cup, my blood”. Aren’t we doing a disservice to our Savior by “adding” to His own words, and using, “represent” instead? In my prayers, I am very careful to say something to the effect, “We now take this bread (loaf), that which Christ said, was (is) His body...”
Any insight or direction you could give or recommend would be appreciated.
Answer:
"While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.'" (Mathew 26:26-29).
"While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, 'Take it; this is My body. And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, 'This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God'" (Mark 14:22-25).
"And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood'" (Luke 22:19-20).
"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (I Corinthians 11:23-26).
Before discussing these passages, we need a reminder about a figure of speech that is called a metaphor.
"A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison.
Here are the basics:
- A metaphor states that one thing is another thing
- It equates those two things not because they actually are the same, but for the sake of comparison or symbolism
- If you take a metaphor literally, it will probably sound very strange (are there actually any sheep, black or otherwise, in your family?)
- Metaphors are used in poetry, literature, and anytime someone wants to add some color to their language"
[Alice E. M. Underwood, "What Is a Metaphor?", Grammarly.com]
Thus, when we say X is Y, we need to consider whether that statement is literal or a metaphor. The key distinction is that if it is literally true, a metaphor would not make sense. For example, "Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children" (Galatians 4:25). Hagar was a woman and not a mountain, so we know Paul is stating a metaphor.
When Jesus said, "This is my body," he was standing in front of the disciples whole and healthy. Thus, we know that Jesus was speaking in terms of a metaphor. It is even clearer when speaking of the fruit of the vine, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." When Jesus stated this, he had not yet shed his blood to establish the New Covenant. He is again speaking a metaphor.
Not everyone catches metaphors, so I'm not surprised that some chose to make it clearer by saying that the bread represents Christ's body and the fruit of the vine represents his shed blood. This is not adding to the Scriptures. It is restating what the Scriptures say in different words. Nor is there a command requiring a specific rote set of statements that must be said during the partaking of the Lord's Supper. To require such would be adding a command that God did not give us.
